Soil organic matter (SOM) is critical in soil fertility, carbon cycling, and other properties and functions. The amount of organic matter in soil depends on the biomass accumulated through photosynthesis, incorporated in the soil, its decay rate, mineralization, stabilization, and the decomposition rate of the resultant SOM.

Soil organic carbon makes up approximately 50% of organic matter. As carbon mineralization represents an energy source for microbes responsible for nutrient cycling (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus), there is a need to balance the C stocks and amounts mineralized (C flows) to support crop production. Addressing the balance between C stocks and flows requires an in-depth understanding of soil C inputs, stabilization mechanisms, and loss pathways which largely depend on the quantity and quality of C inputs, climatic variables (i.e. temperature and precipitation), soil characteristics (soil type, clay content, and initial C stocks) and adopted management practices.

Meanwhile, SOC formation and decomposition depend on biophysical factors (i.e. soil texture, climate), and the amounts and types of biomass added to the soil each year largely depend on land use (types of crops or vegetation) and management. As do the resultant soil carbon stocks; these factors vary enormously over space, time, and cropping systems.

In this Research Topic, we welcome papers aligned with any of the three overarching themes and various specific topics of the 9th International Symposium on Soil Organic Matter:

Theme 1: Cutting-Edge Technology

• SOM Modelling and Mapping: From Pores to the Global Scale
• Qualifying, Quantifying and Visualizing SOM
• Tracing SOM by Pioneering Tools
• SOMics and SOMicrobiome
• Big data, Artificial Intelligence and Remote Sensing of SOM
• Carbon Farming and Nature-Based Solutions

Theme 2: SOM Processes and Interactions

• Climate, Greenhouse Gases and Land Use Change
• Living Part of SOM – Soil Organisms
• Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus Stoichiometry in SOM
• Physico-chemistry (Biogeochemistry) and Greenhouse Gases
• SOM in a Drier World
• SOM at the Interface of Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems

Theme 3: SOM Significance and Functions

• Agriculture, Soil Quality and Soil Health
• SOM functions in Natural and Managed Forests and Grasslands
• Decarbonization in Africa
• Carbon Sequestration, Budget and Trade
• Policy, Socioeconomic and Educational Impacts of SOM
• SOM in Deep, Extreme, Stressed and Contaminated Environments

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Frontiers in Soil Science

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